It's against this backdrop that last week's Budget was announced, providing an additional $50 million of operating funding over the next two years for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and bringing the Government's spending and commitments to rebuilding greater Christchurch to $15.4 billion.

The engineer whose firm designed the CTV building says "not a day goes by" when he does not think about the people killed in the February 2011 earthquake - prompting an angry response from victims' families.

What is happening with Antony Gough's Terrace project, the supposed flagship of the central city rebuild? In an exclusive interview he tells JOHN McCRONE the stalled project - and the painfully slow inner city rebuild - is poised for liftoff.